Teenager facing lengthy ban over driving charges

A teenager who admitted to driving whilst already disqualified could face a lengthy ban following a series of offences.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday (October 26) and admitted six charges, including taking a car without the owner’s consent, making off without paying for fuel, and driving with-out insurance.

He was also charged with three counts of driving whilst disqualified on three separate occasions between July and August.

The court heard that the teenager had been handed a six-month driving ban in September after receiving 14 points on his licence following offences earlier this year. On July 28, the teenager, from Huntingdon, drove his girlfriend’s car to the BP garage, in Hartford, and filled the car with £40 worth of petrol, before driving off without paying.

On August 8, he again took the car to the BP garage and filled it with £59.14 worth of fuel before leaving without paying.

The final incident took place on August 28, when he took the car to Tesco’s petrol station, in Huntingdon, and filled the car up with £50.02 of fuel, before being captured on CCTV as he left with-out paying.

All three incidents took place whilst the teenager was disqualified and had no insurance.

Chairman of the bench, Susan Painter, was told that in total the teenager had made off without paying for petrol worth £149.16 from the BP garage and Huntingdon Tesco.

Julian Hopley, in mitigation, said that he understood the court would be looking to impose a “disqualification for a reasonable length”.

The teenager has been referred for a pre-sentence report and will-return to the court on November 16.